Deeper oil pan a good idea for off road?

[Joel Wilson]

Bigger pan isn't going to do much, if anything, for "low" oil pressure. Obviously more, cooler oil is going to increase pressure, but I wouldn't expect an extra quart of oil to make any noticeable difference.

That bigger pan with trap doors, crank scrapers, oil cooler, HV pump,...that's a different story. One thing alone can be dismissed but several things combined...Especially since you can reuse those parts once its been rebuilt.

Course you could add some Lucas oil stabilizer...I have a 2002 Chevy Astro with 355000+ miles because of Lucas Oil stabilizer added when the oil pressure started dropping. That was 75000 miles ago. 355k is to the moon and half way back. Now granted those havent been hard core wheeling miles but that is with a 4.3L V6 and spent quite of abit of time gross overloaded up and over the coastal mtns.

 

[SPLATT]

I had a Moroso 7qt pan with the kick outs on both sides and really liked it until some lady cut me off and ran me through a shallow ditch and in doing so I hear a metal to metal clank. I pulled over right away and shut it off. Crawling under I discover the front passenger corner of the pan kick outs made solid contact with the differential but thankfully it just dented it slightly and didn't crack or split the weld seam. After that I swapped it out for a 6qt pan which gave plenty of room for the differential. If I was to do it again I'd trim that corner up a bit.

 

[Joel Wilson]

I had a Moroso 7qt pan with the kick outs on both sides and really liked it until some lady cut me off and ran me through a shallow ditch and in doing so I hear a metal to metal clank. I pulled over right away and shut it off. Crawling under I discover the front passenger corner of the pan kick outs made solid contact with the differential but thankfully it just dented it slightly and didn't crack or split the weld seam. After that I swapped it out for a 6qt pan which gave plenty of room for the differential. If I was to do it again I'd trim that corner up a bit.

Good to know. So far, I have not hit it on anything but have only wheeled to full flex, slow and easy.

Just tell me it wasnt a Prius that cut you off. That would just be embarrassing...

 

[SPLATT]

Good to know. So far, I have not hit it on anything but have only wheeled to full flex, slow and easy.

Just tell me it wasnt a Prius that cut you off. That would just be embarrassing...

This happened before the Prius even existed. I don't even remember what kind car it was but she cut a somewhat blind 90 degree corner and I either hit her head on or went through the ditch. Ditch it was. The pan survived and went onto another SBC I built for the C-10 I had after my first Blazer.

 

[Joel Wilson]

This happened before the Prius even existed. I don't even remember what kind car it was but she cut a somewhat blind 90 degree corner and I either hit her head on or went through the ditch. Ditch it was. The pan survived and went onto another SBC I built for the C-10 I had after my first Blazer.

Into the ditch was a lot cheaper and easier than a head on collision. Even with as heavy as our square bodies are, things can still get bent in a hurry in accidents. I got T boned at 45mph from a 2000 something Mustang and it bent the frame, and rear 1 ton axle and right front control arms. I got one helluva ride through the intersection and ditch and ended up in an olive orchard which sent my tool box flying about 50 yards away, not to mention puncturing the fuel tank. And this was in an 85 C20.

 

[1-ton]

I have a 5-qt. pan on my small block chevy that is in a crew cab 4wd 1-ton. The oil pan is just a Dorman, which was probably made in China. I had no problems with it sealing well. These stock replacement 5-qt pans are the same depth as 4-qt pans. They just add more oil capacity in the center section of the pan. This allows the oil pump pick-up tube to have the same clearance in the 5-qt pan as a 4-qt pan.

 

[mrgoodwrench]

Thanks for all the replies. Here is what i have decided to go with. when im done we will see if i made the right choice. Im going to run the melling m55hv high volume pump but im going to swap the 70psi high pressure spring for the factory level yellow spring which i believe is 58psi. I also going to run this pan https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ctr-16-080t with the correct deeper oil pickup and felpro oil pan gasket. I will update when its all done and let your guys know how it works out.

 

[1-ton]

Thanks for all the replies. Here is what i have decided to go with. when im done we will see if i made the right choice. Im going to run the melling m55hv high volume pump but im going to swap the 70psi high pressure spring for the factory level yellow spring which i believe is 58psi. I also going to run this pan https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ctr-16-080t with the correct deeper oil pickup and felpro oil pan gasket. I will update when its all done and let your guys know how it works out.

That is a lot of pan for a mild street machine. If you notice the description for the pan you want has the word "racing" in it. If ground clearance, and oil tube pick-up length was a worry for you, this pan will do it. Here is the 5-qt oil pan I got for my new TBI 350 crate engine. It replaced the stock 4-qt oil pan it came with. There will be no worrying about ground clearance or oil pump pick-up tube clearance with this pan. This pan is offered from Spectrum (Dorman, Spectrum, Pioneer its all the same pan off the same Chines assembly line) . My new crate engine came with a High Volume/Standard Pressure oil pump. Most new Chevy engines come with this oil pump. It has about 50-psi when engine is started cold, but when the engine and oil warms up to temprature it runs at about 30-PSI at idle, and about 40-PSI driving down the road.

 

[mrgoodwrench]

That is a lot of pan for a mild street machine. If you notice the description for the pan you want has the word "racing" in it. If ground clearance, and oil tube pick-up length was a worry for you, this pan will do it. Here is the 5-qt oil pan I got for my new TBI 350 crate engine. It replaced the stock 4-qt oil pan it came with. There will be no worrying about ground clearance or oil pump pick-up tube clearance with this pan. This pan is offered from Spectrum (Dorman, Spectrum, Pioneer its all the same pan off the same Chines assembly line) . My new crate engine came with a High Volume/Standard Pressure oil pump. Most new Chevy engines come with this oil pump. It has about 50-psi when engine is started cold, but when the engine and oil warms up to temprature it runs at about 30-PSI at idle, and about 40-PSI driving down the road.

I have lift and am on 37in tires so clearance should not be an issue. I like the idea of extra capasity and i have the correct pickup legnth. Thanks for the idea though.

 

[dyeager535]

And this is the pan I'm running. Summit pan

No competition, just showing there are options out there.

I was underwhelmed with the results after putting a ton of thought into the oil pan and pump. Not that I felt there was anything wrong with my results, but if I had spent the $500+ I had initially talked myself into, I would have considered it a waste, as the cheap pan and recommended pump do exactly what they are supposed to, and nothing I can see that justified more expense. I suppose maybe my oil temp tests could be a bit more revelatory if I had a 7qt pan to test, but that's about all I can imagine I'd have managed with the larger pan.

I need to get my hands on an 80PSI factory gauge so I can bump the oil pressure back up and actually have a gauge that will display without being pegged.

 

[mrgoodwrench]

And this is the pan I'm running. Summit pan

No competition, just showing there are options out there.

I was underwhelmed with the results after putting a ton of thought into the oil pan and pump. Not that I felt there was anything wrong with my results, but if I had spent the $500+ I had initially talked myself into, I would have considered it a waste, as the cheap pan and recommended pump do exactly what they are supposed to, and nothing I can see that justified more expense. I suppose maybe my oil temp tests could be a bit more revelatory if I had a 7qt pan to test, but that's about all I can imagine I'd have managed with the larger pan.

I need to get my hands on an 80PSI factory gauge so I can bump the oil pressure back up and actually have a gauge that will display without being pegged.

I agree there are many options sometimes i almost wish there were less it would save me decision time and money lol. Im definently not saying my choice is the only one or even the correct one we will wait and see. But i am sticking with the old sbc long term so i can always pull thease parts and re use them some day when i upgrade motors.

 

[1-ton]

I have lift and am on 37in tires so clearance should not be an issue. I like the idea of extra capasity and i have the correct pickup legnth. Thanks for the idea though.

The pan you are chossing is a nice one. It is better than mine. The one you chose has the right side windage lavour to keep oil from splashing as the crank turns clockwise. I was just too lazy to want to go with that much modification of a pan for a mild performance street engine. My engine has a full length windage trey bolted to the main caps...plus the one that comes factory at the rear main cap, which stops the oil from running up the back of the block under acceleration.

 

[Joel Wilson]

The pan you are chossing is a nice one. It is better than mine. The one you chose has the right side windage lavour to keep oil from splashing as the crank turns clockwise. I was just too lazy to want to go with that much modification of a pan for a mild performance street engine. My engine has a full length windage trey bolted to the main caps...plus the one that comes factory at the rear main cap, which stops the oil from running up the back of the block under acceleration.

Both pans mentioned look nice and without the kickouts, you can still run a 2qt oil filter. And above 3k, the crank scrapers and windage trays really start to make a difference. At least on a dyno pull. Main reason I spent 350 on my Moroso 7 qt pan is that I was starting to get a little bent on forking over 375 a month on my wife's Honda but now I just really like how nice and cool my engine runs even when 110+ outside. Just wish I could get my transmission to get along with the program.